An RV fire in Sacramento Wednesday afternoon is raising new safety concerns at a Sacramento business park. The vehicle was parked on Commerce Circle, just off the 160 freeway, and threatened nearby businesses. identified himself. “I was concerned for the well-being of all of our employees and I was preparing people for an evacuation of the building just in case the winds started coming that way.” The explosive scene, right from his office window, interrupted a customer. meeting the man he had. That customer called it to the attention of the business manager. “He said, ‘He might want to come back. There’s a fire behind you,'” he explained. “Boy, that was a surprise.” The fire adds to a long list of issues that businesses in the Commerce district said they have faced in recent years. KCRA 3 first reported on nearly 200 RVs parked around the district last September. At the time, the businesses said the camps created excessive amounts of trash and allowed dogs to run loose between RVs and tents. The businesses also said their employees even walked past human waste and drug paraphernalia on their way to work. In December 2021, code enforcement tagged and removed dozens of vehicles from the business’ lot.”It stayed like that for probably eight to nine months,” the business manager said. “Only recently, in the last couple of months, has it become a problem again.” KCRA 3 spoke with a man experiencing homelessness around RVs and campers along the Commercial District where he’s lived for more than two and a half years. “We’re just trying to survive,” PJ Darkwood said of his situation. living. Darkwood moved to the Commerce District around the start of the pandemic when the jobs he was using at local banquet halls dried up.”The work just wasn’t there and the savings went up pretty quickly,” Darkwood said. The Trade Circle felt safe about it. “It’s a nice clean place and nobody bothers you,” he said. Darkwood said, however, that businesses that were once tolerant of RV parking became upset when more people started moving in. “We had a lot of noise,” Darkwood said. “They started looting places, stealing gas. That’s when they went from advocating for us to basically hating us overnight.” Businesses have repeatedly told KCRA 3 that they feel for the homeless residents, but their main concern about returning the RVs is employee safety.” We hope to get some additional help to clean this up to keep our employees safe,” the business manager said. In a statement to KCRA 3, District 3 council member Jeff Harris addressed the resurgence of safety issues in Commerce Circle and Wednesday’s RV fire near businesses there. , saying, “We have moved campers out of the Commerce District twice. This is an ongoing issue throughout the city. We are currently working on an agreement with the county to collaborate more fully on outreach, service delivery, housing and equalizing enforcement. Until we have this agreement, I will continue to push for enforcement in problem areas like Commerce Circle and the River District where fires, drug use and criminal activity are rife.”
An RV fire in Sacramento Wednesday afternoon is raising new safety concerns at a Sacramento business park.
The vehicle was parked on Commerce Circle, off the 160 Freeway, and was threatening nearby businesses.
“When the fire broke out, it was certainly a scary time for a lot of our employees,” said a manager of one of the nearby businesses, who asked not to be identified. “I was concerned for the well-being of all our employees and was preparing people for an evacuation of the building just in case the winds started coming that way.”
The explosive scene, right from his office window, interrupted a meeting with the client the man was with. That customer called it to the attention of the business manager.
“He said, ‘He might want to come back. There’s a fire behind you,'” he explained. “Boy, that was a surprise.”
The fire adds to a long list of issues that businesses in the Commerce district said they have faced in recent years.
KCRA 3 first reported on the nearly 200 RVs parked around the district last September.
At the time, businesses said the camps created excessive amounts of litter and allowed dogs to run loose among RVs and tents.
Businesses also said their employees even passed human waste and drug paraphernalia on their way to work.
In December 2021, code enforcement tagged and removed dozens of vehicles from the business’s lot.
“It’s been like this for probably eight to nine months,” the business manager said. “Only recently, in the last couple of months, has it become a problem again.”
KCRA 3 spoke with a man experiencing homelessness around RVs and campers along the Commercial District where he’s lived for more than two and a half years.
“Most of us are just trying to survive,” PJ Darkwood said of his living situation.
Darkwood moved to the Commerce District around the start of the pandemic, when the jobs he used at local banquet halls dried up.
“The work just wasn’t there and the savings ran out pretty quickly,” Darkwood said.
The Trade Circle felt safe about it.
“It’s a nice clean place and nobody bothers you,” he said.
Darkwood said, however, that businesses that were once tolerant of RV parking became upset when more people started moving.
“We had a lot of noise,” Darkwood said. “They started looting places, stealing gas. That’s when they went from protecting us to basically hating us overnight.”
Businesses have repeatedly told KCRA 3 they feel for the homeless residents, but their main concern about returning the RVs hinges on employee safety.
“Hopefully we’ll get some extra help to clean this up to keep our employees safe,” the business manager said.
In a statement to KCRA 3, District 3 council member Jeff Harris addressed the resurgence of safety issues in Commerce Circle and Wednesday’s RV fire near businesses there, saying:
“We have moved campers twice from Commerce Circle. This is an ongoing issue throughout the city. We are currently working on an agreement with the County to collaborate more fully on outreach, service delivery, housing and equalization of enforcement. Until To have this agreement, I will continue to press for enforcement in problem areas like the Commercial District and the River District, where fires, drug use and criminal activity are rife.”